John Coltrane (tenor sax), McCoy Tyner (piano), Jimmy Garrison (bass) and Elvin Jones (drums). From the album Ballads (1963).
According to some jazz critics, what John Coltrane was playing when he separated from Miles Davis in 1960 was not jazz. Coltrane was exploring new avenues. Then, Impulse! Records saw their sales fall and convinced Coltrane that he had to record some albums playing more traditional jazz for criticism to be favorable. These albums are: Ballads, Duke Ellington & John Coltrane, and John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman. Among the albums that Coltrane later recorded, there are some controversial ones, belonging to his last stage, that lean towards free jazz. On the contrary, Ballads has been criticized precisely for his ease to listening and as an excessive cession of Coltrane to Impulse! Some even say that Coltrane did not want to record it, but actually he saw it as an opportunity to improve his mastery as a musician.
Coltrane describes with his saxophone a conversation he had with a girl. She told him that they are too young to go out together and that they are not ready. Coltrane continues telling the conversation. He says to her: “So why are we feeling this?” And she replies they’ll have to wait. Then, Tyner comes in commenting on the situation from his point of view. And Coltrane continues: “Why wait until it’s too late? Can’t she see I'm in love?.” He is not made of stone. He tries to calm down and follows his speech: “Should they continue to act like children? ¿Don’t she realize we’ve grown up already?” Someday she will regret it and wish they had go out together.
© Impulse! Records